Liberation Day…
As I am something of an omnigamer (though with very deep grognard roots) I too am watching the Tariff Wars.
Trump has repeatedly called April 2 “Liberation Day,” with promises to roll out a set of tariffs, or taxes on imports from other countries, that he says will free the U.S. from a reliance on foreign goods. To do this, Trump has said he’ll impose “reciprocal” tariffs to match the duties that other countries charge on U.S. products.
…but not for gamers…
So what does this really mean for gamer me? In the days since Liberation Day the seemingly dominant narrative comes from what some game publishers are saying. Take for example the Polygon article “Tabletop industry in full panic as Trump tariffs are poised to erase decades of growth” which heavily cites news releases from GAMA and Steve Jackson Games:
The games you play are likely to become much more expensive. Nearly 20 organizations that Polygon spoke with said that profits will be severely impacted. Many said jobs will be lost, companies shuttered, and games that have been in development for years may simply never come to market.
Tabletop gaming, which includes board games, card games, and role-playing games, has enjoyed a roughly two-decade renaissance brought on in part by crowdfunding. Nevertheless, much of the industry consists of individual creators, sole proprietors, small family businesses, and remote teams of creatives. The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) said Thursday that the impact of these tariffs will be nothing short of a disaster.
“The latest imposition of a 54% tariff on products from China by the administration is dire news for the tabletop industry and the broader US economy,” GAMA said in a news release. “As an industry highly dependent on producing goods overseas and importing them into the US, this policy will have devastating consequences.
“Tariffs are essentially taxes on consumers, not on the countries where the products are produced,” it continued. “Publishers will be forced to pass these costs along to their customers or face the prospect of ceasing operations. Nearly a third of all US consumer goods — including clothes, food products, appliances, cars, and entertainment items like games — are imported. This means higher prices across the board as all these products will need to increase prices to compensate for these new Trump Taxes.”
…but for America?
Some counterpoints exist, such as that posted by X user Wayne’s Books (@Waynes_Books):
At least one hobby gaming luminary responded with their own counterpoint:
While it certainly sounds easy to invest in America, the reality can be a bit more challenging. This is what some were telling Brooks Brothers until their reality updated:
The reality of hobby gaming, as I see it, is that as a general rule many hobby boardgamers—and certainly many wargamers—do not understand how much a game really costs. It should surprise nobody that paying $100 or more—before tariffs—for a wargame is not the exception but the reality. This is why programs like GMT Games P500 are so valuable (and misleading?) because they offer an up-front discount to pricing. The P500 price distorts gamers perceptions because they often look at a wargame like Panzer North Africa and see a $95 game (P500 price) and not the $152 retail (a 38% discount).
While it is easy for gamers to blame manufacturers and publishers, we must realize that our demands are part of the problem too. Players of Littoral Commander: Indo-Pacific from The Dietz Foundation clamored for wooden blocks. Well, we got them…an add-on that cost (pre-tariffs) almost 60%(!) of the base set.
It is very early in the Tariff Wars to see where this is going to end up for gamers. The US administration seems to desire onshoring production. The problem, as already alluded to above, is that the present state of domestic game manufacturing is either non-existent or under-scaled (and perhaps unscalable) to replace overseas manufacturing. To build suitable domestic manufacturing the hobby gaming industry certainly could use advocacy from an association dedicated to their interests. Alas, that organization may not be capable of doing so… .
As I see it, there are only a few ways to square this circle. One way is to accept fewer games and higher prices. That seems to be the default position several (many? all?) game publishers appear to be taking. Another solution is for gamers to cut back on spending; in effect spend the same gross dollars but on fewer items. That seems to be what publishers worry about the most. Alternatively, the hobby game industry—including publishers and gamers—could advocate and support investments in US manufacturing. This appears to be a very minority (absent?) position with many seemingly dismissive of the idea.
For myself, well, I have several games inbound (Littoral Commander: Baltic is scheduled for delivery today) that may—or may not—take a tariff hit. I have other games that have been languishing in preorder that are months (in some cases years) overdue that will certainly cause headaches for publishers as they must decide how to cover the added costs of tariffs. Going ahead, I expect publishers to raise prices; in response I will likely maintain, or slightly reduce, my gross gaming budget meaning fewer games purchased. As prices rise further I almost certainly will focus my limited gaming budget on publishers and designers I deeply respect (The Dietz Foundation Littoral Commander series is an example) while I also look more seriously at publishers like Blue Panther which perhaps have less exposure to tariffs and therefore (hopefully?) can deliver better costs in games. My days of taking a chance on big-box games like Dune: War for Arrakis (CMON Games – currently $139.99 retail) or anything by Leder Games beyond Root where Arcs is $60 retail but The Blighted Reach Expanison is $100(!) likely is ending. I personally would love to see investments in US domestic manufacturing but I fear that option is being dismissed out-of-hand.
The Tariff Wars begun they have.
Feature image courtesy WordPress Generate AI with system generated default prompt “Generate a highly detailed and sharp-focused image for a blog post about the economic implications of new tariffs imposed by Trump on imported goods. The main subject should be a visually striking representation of the clash between American-made and foreign-made products, symbolizing the “Liberation Day.” Create a contrast between tabletop games and their costs, showcasing a game board with price tags depicting rising costs due to tariffs. Use soft, warm lighting to evoke a sense of nostalgia and urgency, and employ a modern, illustrative style to captivate viewers and highlight the tabletop gaming industry. Ensure the image is high resolution to capture intricate details.“
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